Empowering Youth

Our goal is to reduce teen pregnancy, promote gender equality, and empower young mothers. In 2017, GYI discovered that high rates of unplanned teen pregnancy and lack of support for adolescent mothers contributed towards generational poverty and adverse childhood experiences. Our work addresses this cycle by focusing on six program areas:

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Peer-to-Peer Youth Leadership

Iniciativa Guatemala (IG) works with local youth to train them in sexual & reproductive health (SRH) and provide leadership tools so they can make an impact in their schools and communities.

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SRH Consultations & Contraception

Iniciativa Guatemala (IG) provides free youth-friendly consultations for sexual and reproductive health at numerous locations around the Guatemala City landfill.

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Comprehensive Sexuality Education

Iniciativa Guatemala (IG) provides comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) directly to students at partner schools located near the Guatemala City landfill.

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Pregnancy & Maternity Education

The communities surrounding the Guatemala City landfill are home to thousands of teenage mothers.

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Teen Parenting & Wellbeing

Raising a child while transitioning into adulthood is a challenging task and Iniciativa Guatemala (IG) hopes to.

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Early Childhood Development

Supporting teens through pregnancy and the first 1,000 days with emphasis on breastfeeding, nutrition, family planning, and emotional wellbeing

How we work

Guatemala City at-risk communities

Guatemala Youth Initiative focuses geographically on the communities that surround the Guatemala City trash dump. Located in the middle of the city, the trash dump lies within a system of steep ravines whose surrounding communities are home to the highest levels of violence, poverty, and family brokenness in the capital. Roughly 160,000 people live in these communities, and an estimated 30,000 are adolescents.

GYI coordinates with partner organizations, governmental institutions, and community leaders to deliver its programs in communities around the trash dump. Working with youth in local schools, training youth leaders and moms from different neighborhoods, and providing contraception within walking distance has allowed the organization to fulfill its mission within the communities.

Collaborate

GYI works with numerous parter NGOs to triangulate efforts and create deeper impact by working together

Guatemalan

Most of our board members, staff and major donors are Guatemalans working towards a brighter future

Community

GYI conducts studies with community involvement to enure that programs address the needs of beneficiaries

Root-based

Services are designed to address root problems that will empower youth to live a happier more fulfilling life

Teen pregnancy

Teen pregnancy makes it extremely difficult for youth to improve their life circumstances as they experience accelerated adulthood without the chance to finish developing themselves.

Student sexual behavior put as many as half the student body at-risk for an unplanned teen pregnancy this year.
GYI estimates that approximately 60% of children are born to teen mothers near the Guatemala City trash dump.
Teen mothers near the trash dump report dropping out of school, suffering social prejudice and abandonment as a result of their pregnancy.

Learn more about how teen pregnancy and gender inequality in Guatemala:

Latin America has the second highest
rate of teen pregnancy in the world

OUR PROGRAMS